Chapter 5 - Rachel
I carried the sacks of flour to the baking aisle, preparing to restock them. For once, I was glad I was at the shop, because it meant I wasn’t near Sam.
Every time I saw him, it took every ounce of effort not to kiss him, not to touch him, or run my fingers through his hair.
The mating bond had intensified everything.
That night after the ceremony, when we had been in his living room, I had almost thrown caution to the wind and kissed him, knowing exactly what would have happened if I had.
It was a miracle I had managed to refrain.
It wasn’t just our past that had stopped me from acting.
There was another aspect, one that Sam didn’t know about: I was a virgin.
That didn’t bother me, but I knew full well that Sam wasn’t, and there was that thought that I wouldn’t live up to expectations.
I was already a disappointment as a mate to him. I wasn’t going to add that to the mix.
As those thoughts ran through my head, Alex rounded the corner and tilted his head as he watched me bundling several bags of flour in my arms. “Need help?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” I said. “It’s just—”
As I turned, one of the sacks of flour collapsed on the floor, exploding and covering my jeans in flour. I squeaked in surprise, stumbling back, and only avoiding falling on my ass and dropping more flour by Alex catching me. He laughed.
“You all right?” he asked as I righted myself.
“Fine,” I said, staring down and dusting off my jeans as I grimaced. “God, this is going to be a nightmare to clean.” As Alex started laughing, I shot him a look. “Knock it off.”
“Sorry. It’s just you look like you decided to jump into a waist-high vat of the stuff,” he teased.
“It’s not funny,” I said, even as I couldn’t conceal my laughter.
“Yes, it is, and you know it.” He reached down, swiped his finger through the flour, creating a swirling line, then stood and drew it down my nose.
“Hey!” I stumbled back again, still laughing.
“Rachel?”
I blinked, surprised at the sound of Sam’s voice. When I turned, I saw him standing at the end of the aisle, shooting daggers at Alex.
“Sam,” I said. “What are you doing here?”
He didn’t answer, still glaring at Alex. I could sense his anger through the mating bond, an overwhelming sense of protectiveness, and what might have been jealousy. He marched forward, putting himself between Alex and me.
“I was coming to see you,” he finally said. “I thought I would like to see my mate.”
He said this last bit toward Alex, and the threat there was unmistakable. Alex took a step back as Sam let out a low growl.
“That’s enough,” I snapped at Sam, but he kept glaring at Alex, warning him to stay away.
“I’ve got some work I’ve got to do,” Alex said, and turned with a half-wave at me, walking faster than necessary.
“Sam, can I talk to you for a minute?” I said through gritted teeth as I glared up at him. “Privately?”
He tore his gaze away from glaring at Alex enough to look at me.
“All right,” he growled. He gave one last, warning look to Alex, then followed me as I grabbed him by the wrist and tugged him down the aisle and around the corner.
I didn’t stop or turn to look at him until I pulled open the supply closet and ushered him inside. I slammed the door shut behind us.
“What the hell was that?” I hissed, rounding on Sam.
For a moment, panic cut through my anger.
I hadn’t realized until I was trapped in a closet with Sam just how small the space was.
We were only inches apart. In here, his scent wrapped around me, obliterating the stench of cleaning supplies and dust. My heart jumped into my throat, and I could barely breathe as I looked up at him.
It would only take a step for me to press against him.
There was nowhere to push away, nowhere to keep my distance so I could keep myself in check around him.
A lump swelled in my throat as my wolf went wild.
“What are you talking about?” Sam asked, drawing me back to his face. I didn’t miss the irritation in his words as he glowered at the door as if he could see Alex.
“Why did you go after Alex like that?” I asked. “He’s my friend.”
“You saw the way he was coming onto you,” he snarled. “I don’t appreciate guys not respecting boundaries. You’re mated, and he’s still brazenly flirting with you.”
His words cut through that lust that had been consuming me, and my anger resurged. “Flirting? He was helping me clean up a mess I accidentally made.”
He didn’t smile. Instead, he simply tapped his nose. Frowning, I slid my hand down the bridge, and it came back with a line of flour.
“You’re saying that isn’t flirting?” he growled.
Frustration rushed through me as I bit back an irritated sigh. “What do you care? He was just being friendly,” I said.
“He likes you,” he retorted.
I snorted, rolling my eyes as I took a step back. “You’re joking, right? Alex? He’s my friend. He doesn’t see me like that.”
He stared at me as if I had grown a second head in the span of a few seconds.
His eyes flicked up and down my body, heating it with his gaze.
After a moment, he stepped toward me, our bodies now so close that one wrong move would bring me flush against him.
His hand reached out and grabbed my waist, his touch electrifying my body so all I could do was think about how close he was.
Through that mating bond, I could feel that tug of want, a jolt that told me he was having the same thoughts, the same cravings.
“You should be more careful,” Sam said. “If you’re that oblivious.”
“Oblivious?” I asked. “Oblivious to what?”
Again, he stared at me in bewilderment, then shook his head. “You really have no idea the effect you have on males, do you?” he asked. His grip on my waist tightened.
That shook me for a moment, and I took a step back in confusion, trying to ignore my pounding heart and the way his touch seemed to jolt through me.
“I don’t…” I trailed off, my brain shutting off for a moment as they refused to process his words. “I don’t have any effect on guys.”
He snorted, shaking his head. “How you aren’t able to see it is beyond me.”
I shook my head again. “Regardless, could you please just take a step back?” I said. “You’re being a bit overprotective.”
His brow furrowed as he stared at me. “Overprotective? No, I’m not.”
I raised an eyebrow, folding my arms as I stared up at him. “What do you call chewing out my coworker for talking with me?”
“You’re my mate,” he growled. My stomach lurched as his hand went to my waist and he looked down at me. “I’m going to keep you safe whether you like it or not. And if that means telling guys to back off, then I’m going to tell guys to back off.”
I gritted my teeth. “We know the mating thing is just for show. And besides, just because we’re mated doesn’t give you the right to be so controlling.”
“Controlling? I’m just trying to make sure someone doesn’t take advantage of you,” Sam said.
“He’s not going to take advantage of me,” I snapped. “And yes, controlling. I always knew you had a bit of a self-righteous streak. I didn’t think it extended to telling me who I can and can’t talk to.”
“I’m not trying to tell you who you can and can’t talk to,” he snapped. “But if you’re too blind to see when a guy is head over heels for you and is flirting with you after you’re spoken for, then, yeah, I’m going to have to step in.”
“Even if he was flirting with me, so what? That’s none of your concern.”
“None of my concern? You’re my mate. You’re mine, and if he can’t respect that—”
“I’m not your property!” I wanted to scream it, but I managed to keep my voice down. “And you need to calm down, Sam.”
He let out a low growl as he loomed over me.
I could feel his heat radiating off him.
His hands gripped my shoulders, and despite everything, despite my frustration at him, a spark of longing burst into life inside me.
With him this near, his rough hands holding me in place in the dimly lit closet, it was easy to imagine all sorts of scenarios.
Him pushing me against the wall, pinning me there as one hand gripped my hair to turn my head up toward his.
Him pressing his mouth to mine. My heart began thundering in my chest as my mind short-circuited for a second.
That bond, that need for him, tugged at me again, and for a brief moment, I didn’t care how furious I was with him.
“I’m not going to calm down while some guy is ogling you,” he said, completely removing any sense of heat or need that I had been trying to fight.
“God, you are impossible,” I said. “You know, maybe if things had turned out differently a few years ago, I would give you a pass on acting this way. You had your chance. You don’t get to suddenly act like I’m yours now.”
“What the hell does that have to do with anything?”
I let out a groan of frustration and irritation. Of course he didn’t understand. And if he didn’t get it now, then I wasn’t going to bother trying to explain it to him. It wouldn’t do any good.
“You’re impossible,” I repeated. “Just knock it off. I’m not your property that needs guarding all the time.”
His hands gripped my biceps as he stared down at me. My heart jackhammered as I stared up at him. His mouth was so close to mine, separated by a few inches. I wanted to hide that want and need I constantly felt for him. I doubted I was doing a good job of it.
“I’m not going to stop protecting you, whether you like it or not,” he snarled, then gave a feral grin. “So you’re just going to have to get used to it.”
For a moment, I thought he was going to kiss me, and his words washed off me like water on a bird. I couldn’t hear a word. All I could focus on was the heat radiating off him, how close he was, how badly I wanted him, despite myself.
Then his hands slid away from me, and the spell was broken. Before I even knew what was happening, he thrust open the door and stalked off, leaving me alone to figure out what the hell just happened.